Joining The Dots
by HedwigsTalons
Summary: Alan is struck down by a mystery illness leaving Scott feeling worried and powerless


Alan stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The angry red spot on his jaw line stared back at him. Sometimes being a teenager sucked. He debated whether to just ride it out but he wasn't in the mood for the inevitable teasing from Gordon.

He felt tired and irritable. Perhaps he ought to cut back on the late night gaming. His skin was paler than usual and the dark circles under his eyes only served to accentuate the pimple. Grabbing the small tube of concealer from the back of his cabinet Alan made a passable job of covering up the welt.

He ventured into the kitchen but nothing tempted him. The distracted opening and closing of cupboard doors drew the attention of Scott who was working his way through his own post-run breakfast.

"You ok there Allie?"

"Yeah, just not really hungry."

Now Scott was worried. The calorific intake of the International Rescue operatives was phenomenal. Alan normally had the double hit of typical teenage appetite added to the hunger born of having a physically demanding job. If he wasn't hungry something was probably wrong.

Scott passed a closer eye over his youngest sibling. He noted the pale complexion and drooping eyelids.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache, that's all. I'll grab a couple of tablets from the infirmary and maybe head back to bed for a while."

"No. You go straight back to your room now and I'll fetch the tablets. You look dead on your feet."

Anal nodded gratefully, wincing slightly at the motion. The bright sunshine through the panoramic windows was suddenly feeling just that little bit too bright. He scratched distractedly at an itch on the back of his neck and felt another lump. He must be run down if he was getting a full on acne breakout. Alan trudged back to his room and collapsed onto the bed.

When Scott entered the dimly lit sanctuary a short while later his smothering instincts went into overload. For a start the teenager was on the bed rather than the floor and this alone was enough to rouse suspicions that it was more than just a simple headache troubling him.

Alan seized upon the offered water and painkillers and gulped them down rapidly. A steady hand was placed against his forehead, checking his temperature.

"Well bed is definitely the right place for you" his eldest brother said kindly. "Come on, get those clothes off and get into bed properly."

Alan grimaced but the look on Scott's face showed he wasn't going to leave until Alan had complied. He pulled his shirt off over his head and dumped it over the side of the bed onto the floor. The moving material felt rough and itchy against him and he scratched at his arms and chest.

"Whoa, Allie. That's not good." The alarm and concern in Scott's voice was clear to hear.

Alan looked down at himself. The exposed skin was marred by angry dots. The start of an unidentified rash was spreading across his body.

"Infirmary. Now. We need to get you into quarantine."

Pausing only long enough for some pyjamas to be gathered up Alan found himself marched to the infirmary. His body now ached and the itch was spreading. It was a relief to finally slip between the cool white sheets and sink back to sleep it the darkened room.

xoxoxox

Scott was worried. Worried for both his family and the organisation that they kept running on minimal manpower. Alan was going to be off duty for an unknown amount of time and they had no idea what was ailing the teen.

He looked through the observation window into the infirmary. Alan looked even younger than normal. The washed out skin would be barely distinguishable from the white linen if it wasn't for the bright red spots. Spots that had rapidly multiplied until every inch of him was covered in the mystery rash.

Full quarantine had been implemented. Alan was sealed off with any visitors forced to wear bio-hazard suits. It felt like an extreme reaction but they couldn't risk an infection spreading, especially since they didn't know what they were dealing with.

Even Scott was isolated and under observation in case he had already contracted the disease. He paced about the room like a caged tiger. He felt fine but until they had answers it wasn't worth the risk. He might be confined to quarters but that didn't stop the Commander from taking charge of the situation.

He opened a link to Thunderbird Five. "John, I want you and Eos to analyse Alan's mission logs. Go through every instance he has left the island in the last four weeks. Cross reference this with any local medical board reports on disease outbreaks. Let's see if we can't work out what he has been exposed to."

His next contact was to Brains. The scientist and medic had already drawn blood samples from his patient and was working hard to identify the cause of Alan's illness.

"Any progress Brains?"

"N-n-negative, Scott. I b-b-believe the cause is viral but I am finding it d-d-difficult to identify the specific strain. Once John has c-c-compiled a list of options I c-c-can narrow down the testing."

"I understand. Just keep trying."

xoxoxox

Brains was at a loss. Normally the Tracys were a robust and healthy bunch. Medical intervention tended to fall into the 'patch it and stitch it' category with maybe the occasional concussion thrown in for variety. Actual illness on the island was a rarity.

A blood sample drawn from Alan had confirmed Brains' suspicions that Alan was harbouring a virus. The virus was currently developing in a cell culture in the laboratory. Once this had been completed he would be able to sequence the virus genome and identify the culprit. These stages took time though. As many of the process involved were automatic he settled down with Alan's medical file to see if that would yield any answers.

Alan's file was impressively thick despite his youthfulness. Every ailment and injury was detailed. The results of every annual medical were contained in thorough reports. Each vaccination and booster received was listed; a list that was more comprehensive than for the average individual due to the need to be able to undertake missions in every geographic regions. Many illnesses had been eradicated through global health programmes but there was still a need vaccinations. Alan hated injection days.

Brains delved back further into the childhood records, tacked on as an appendix to the main report.

Brains scoured the list, blinked, and checked it again.

There was one glaring omission from the vaccine list. One that he had never even thought to administer because it was normally dealt with in toddlerhood, long before he had taken over the youth's medical care. The varicella vaccine.

It wasn't conclusive proof of what Alan was suffering from but it gave him a starting point for his investigations and it could yield answers faster than trying to conduct a genome sequencing from scratch.

He checked in with John to see if there was any chance his hunch could be correct. A quick test of the sample now he knew what he was looking for, confirmed his suspicions.

xoxoxox

Scott was restless and agitated. His baby brother was sick and he was powerless to help. He couldn't even sweat out his agitation in the gym until Brains had cleared him as free from the illness that had struck down Alan.

He leapt to his feet when the door to the isolation room opened.

Scott relaxed slightly when Brains appeared. The lack of bio-hazard suit showed that the medic had good news for him.

"You are c-c-clear to leave, Scott. You aren't contagious"

"Does this mean you have worked out what it is that Allie has?"

He looked through the observation window at his brother who was scratching at the spots even in his sleep.

"Yes. Alan has chicken p-p-pox."

"Chicken pox? How on earth has he managed to pick that up. We were all vaccinated against that as kids."

"John suspects the source of the infection was that luddite c-c-community Alan went to help last w-w-week."

"That doesn't explain why Alan caught it though."

"Alan was never v-v-vaccinated. His early records show the appointment w-w-was made but Alan never went and it was n-n-never followed up."

"But Dad was always so thorough about these things."

"It wasn't your father that m-m-made the appointment. Your m-m-mother did. Alan should have had his shots the w-w-week after your skiing holiday. Under the circumstances…"

Brains tailed off. Scott didn't need any help remembering that time period in their lives. It was obvious which holiday Brains was alluding to. That holiday had changed their lives forever. The moment when their mother had been cruelly snatched away by the avalanche. It was small wonder that the routine appointment had been missed. The family had bigger concerns at the time than a two year olds injections. Their father probably hadn't even been aware of the appointment.

"So what does this mean now?"

"The g-g-good news is that everyone else on the island has immunity. The b-b-bad news is that chicken p-p-pox can be worse the older you c-c-contract it. Alan will be very unwell for about t-t-two weeks and will then need recovery t-t-time."

Scott looked through the glass to the limp form in the next room. He cursed himself that something so simple had been overlooked and now Alan was paying the price. At least he was now cleared to care for his baby brother.

Scott hurried through to the main part of the infirmary to do what he did best; looking after his family.


End file.
